WSJ reporter hired as KC Star editorial page editor

Colleen McCain Nelson, a White House correspondent, has been hired as the Kansas City Star’s editorial page editor.

Mark Davis of The Star writes, “Colleen’s journalism career started in high school when she wrote some stories for the Salina Journal. As a KU freshman, she wrote stories for the Miami County Republic in Paola, Kan.

“She already has a collection of ‘Colleen McCain’ bylines from The Star, where she worked as a summer intern in 1995.

“In 2010, Colleen received a Pulitzer Prize for her work in editorial writing with two others at The Dallas Morning News.

“She spent many days and hours in southern Dallas during 2009, talking with residents about what needed to happen, what needed to change. Part of the project identified ‘drops in the bucket’ that could be changed — crack houses, dumping sites and other community sores. Part of the project sent Colleen on drives to check up on those sites that remained on the project’s monthly ‘drops’ list until they were fixed and replaced by another.

“The award praised ‘their relentless editorials depicting the stark social and economic disparity between the city’s better-off northern half and distressed southern half.'”